Namely, being a pro captain. He told me that he's never held the title at that level. But that changed on Friday morning, when he walked into the locker room for the morning skate at Lake Erie and Syracuse Crunch head coach Mark Holick told him he was getting the C.

"I wasn't shocked. But it's something I've never had the honor of being before,'' he said Friday afternoon. "It was nice, a big honor. I'm excited and happy.''

I asked DiPenta to describe his leadership style.

"I'm the type that kind of leads by example. I'm not a big talker,'' he said. "I like to say things when they are appropriate. I don't like to talk too much. I'm not going to change anything as far as what I do as a player. I'm just going to try to help guys any way I can to get better.''